NBA Draft 2019 rumors: Lakers ‘aggressively’ looking to acquire second-round picks

The Lakers are hoping to come away from Thursday’s draft with multiple players.

Los Angeles is “aggressively pursuing the purchase of second-round picks,” according to a report from ESPN, which cites unidentified league sources.

The Lakers will enter the draft after reportedly completing one of the biggest trades in NBA history last weekend. They acquired Anthony Davis from the Pelicans in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and three first-round picks, including the No. 4 selection in 2019.

Los Angeles is also shopping the contracts of reserves Mo Wagner, Jemerrio Jones and Isaac Bonga to other teams in the hopes of clearing more cap space, according to ESPN. Those three players, who combined to average 10.2 points per game last season in limited playing time, are set to earn around $5 million in 2019-20.

Lakers are aggressively pursuing the purchase of second-round picks in Thursday's NBA Draft too, league sources tell ESPN. Those picks will offer two important things for LA: acquisition of inexpensive labor and ability to exceed the salary cap with those minimum contracts. https://t.co/19s9qn8Lbm
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 19, 2019

Those moves, however, would leave the Lakers with only a handful of players under contract for next season. So, acquiring picks would help them fill out their roster.

The Lakers will reportedly pursue a third star in free agency to pair with Davis and LeBron James. They’ve been linked to Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving, among others.

The team also reportedly has interest in Bobby Portis, Marcus Morris and Al Horford.